


The Heart of Life

by ThatBohoFemme



Series: I Believe in a Thing Called Love [7]
Category: World Wrestling Entertainment
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Episode Tag, F/M, Fake Wife, Hospitals, I Love You, Making Up, Minor Injuries, Post RAW: 3/5/18
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-12
Updated: 2018-03-12
Packaged: 2019-03-30 14:38:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,397
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13953720
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ThatBohoFemme/pseuds/ThatBohoFemme
Summary: Bayley adjusted the fedora and sunglasses, trying to come off as cool and collected.In reality, she sat, resisting the urge to freak out. She violently shook, feeling she was on the verge of hyperventilation. She hoped it didn't show. She couldn't let the whole world know how upset she really was.She hated waiting rooms. She hated how Paige's words had gotten into her head.She wanted Elias to be alright.





	The Heart of Life

Bayley adjusted the fedora and sunglasses, trying to come off as cool and collected.

In reality, she sat, resisting the urge to freak out. She violently shook, feeling she was on the verge of hyperventilation. She hoped it didn't show. She couldn't let the whole world know how upset she really was.

She hated waiting rooms. She hated how Paige's words had gotten into her head.

She wanted Elias to be alright.

The hat and glasses, stolen from Elias, existed to hide her identity- one could never tell when they might be recognized by fans- and also to hide how terrible she looked. Her hair flew everywhere and her eyes were red-rimmed and damp. She had just managed to control her tears but just barely.

Worry. Fear. Panic. Sad. She felt every negative emotion one could possibly feel. On top of all that, she felt _guilty_.

_If I'd only known the match was going to get that bad, I might have been nicer._ she thought, shifting in the vinyl chair. Her lower back ached- a feeling she accepted as penance.

After her beatdown, Elias met her in the back, ready to offer as much comfort as she needed. He tried to pull her into his arms, reassuring that nothing Paige said was actually true.

With the words bouncing around in her mind, Bayley lashed out at him.

_Get away from me._

_Bay, what's wrong? Talk to me._

_Paige is right. I have no one. No one cares about me._

_"Bayley, you know that's not true. I care. You have me._

_Do you really care? Maybe you're after me for something else._

_Bayley, that's crazy talk._

_I need time to think about this. Don't call me. I'll call you._

That was the _last_ thing she'd said to him.

_Please don't let that be the last thing I ever said to him._ she thought, staring at the ceiling. _Please, God, let him be alright._

She knew she was probably being neurotic, but that match looked _terrible_.

Shaking her head, she winced. She couldn't get that image of him being carted out of the arena loose from her head.

_You can't think like that._ Bayley thought, shifting her hat and glasses again. _He's got to be okay._

After the Symphony of Destruction, she followed the ambulance to the hospital, taking only enough time to swipe the fedora and glasses. She ran up to the reception area of the emergency room, trying to stay calm.

_Ma'am, I can't tell you anything. I'm sorry. Family only._

_I'm his wife._

_That changes thing. Ma'am, just take a seat over here and we'll let you know as soon as we know anything._

Looking back, Bayley didn't know what possessed her to lie. If he woke up and they asked about his wife, he'd be like _What wife? I have no wife._ and then, her cover would be blown.

Not only that but she'd been terrible to him. She had been so quick to act, tossing him aside but now, she sat, terrified to lose him.

To be fair, he had been the first person she'd _legitimately_ cared about.

"You promised me," she hissed, staring harder at the ceiling. "You _fucking_ promised me." Tears stung her eyes as a fresh wave of crying threatened to start.

What the hell had he been thinking? Agreeing to a _Symphony of Destruction_ match? Even the name sounded violent!

Bayley drew the blue flannel shirt tighter around her shoulders. She'd stolen it from him last week, figuring it could be useful for herself. Not only that but it kept her closer to him.

"Mrs. Samson?" a white-coated doctor called. "Bayley Samson?"

Bayley jumped, the sound of their combined names sounding foreign to her. She raised her hands, moving towards the doctor.

"Right this way." The doctor tapped an ID to a black wall panel, gesturing for Bayley to go first. "Your husband's awake and is being admitted."

"Admitted? Is he okay?" She hoped she sounded like the part of the worried wife. For all intents and purposes, she was the worried wife in all but actual title and name.

"Just for observation. He should be back to feeling himself in a day or two." The doctor spoke as they walked.

Bayley nodded, doing her best to keep pace as they moved through the maze of rooms and halls. Finally, an elevator took them to the second floor, and she was at his room.

"Go in." The doctor left after wishing them well.

Bayley's hand rested on the long handle of the door. She felt her panic rise, her heart beginning to beat rapidly. How could she just walk in, acting like nothing happened between them?

_Just do it._ Bayley thought. _Be the bigger person._

Forcing air out of her lungs, she pulled the door open and walked into the room.

"Imagine my surprise when they told me my wife was waiting." Elias' voice, now raspy, greeted her as he watched her walk in. "I could have said I don't have a wife. I could have said it was a psychotic fan but I figured that was mean." His eyes widened as he took in her appearance. "Also, I see you've stolen my hat and glasses."

Bayley resisted the urge to laugh, pulling off the glasses. "I'd take off the hat but my hair is a mess." She eased herself into the hard-backed vinyl chair.

"I don't care. Thought you might have figured that out by now?" Elias reached up, pulling his fedora off her head.

She winced, realizing how bad her hair must have looked. She could feel it frizzing and all over the place. She wanted to cover up but realized he was staring at her, his eyes full of complete and total admiration.

"How are you feeling?" she asked, resisting the urge to stroke one of his hands.

"Like a piano fell on me?" he replied. "I mean- more worried about you. Takes more than a piano to kill me."

"Worried about me?" she asked, the words heavy on her tongue. She jumped, his clammy hand coming over her hand.

"Yes. Considering you _tried_ breaking up with me over the pretense of me _not caring_." Elias squeezed her hand for a beat. "What's wrong?"

Tears spilled, running hot down her cheeks. She thought she'd been all cried out but it would seem that it wasn't true. "I don't want you to regret me."

"Regret you?" Elias cocked his head, groping with the other hand to find tissues. He pulled a few tissues free of the pastel colored box and held one to her eyes. "Why the hell would I regret you?" He held the tissue to her nose. "Blow."

"What am I five?" she retorted. Finally realizing he was serious, she blew her nose into the tissue. "Don't you think that's gross?"

"Nothing's gross when you love someone," Elias remarked, wadding the tissue up and throwing it aside.

She moved to speak and then, jerked her head up, realizing what he'd said. _When you love someone._ He loved her?

"Yes, you heard me correctly. When you love someone. Bayley, I love you." He turned his head, avoiding her stare. If she didn't know better, she would think he was _ashamed_ of what he'd said.

"I love you too." Her voice dropped to just below what nornal people considered a whisper. She twined their fingers, staring over him. "I sat there in that waiting room, hoping the last thing you heard from me wasn't how much I thought you had ulterior motives" She pulled her hand back, curling into herself as her feet came up on the edge of the chair.

"I hate when you do that, almost as much as I hate this damn hospital gown." He reached over for her hand, wincing as if the motion hurt. "I told you- it takes more than a piano and Braun Strowman to kill me."

She relaxed, allowing him to take her hand. She would definitely need some time to ruminate on everything he'd just said but at least, they were together and he wasn't dead.

She leaned over, gently pressing a kiss to his cheek. She allowed her lips to just barely graze the edge of his ear. She dropped her voice low and she whispered.

_What if I told you I find the hospital gown cute?_

-fin-


End file.
